Month: July 2017

The powers to be of the Minnesota Vikings, have certainly not shown any love for Sam Bradford, at training camp in Mankato, Minnesota. Rick Spielman has stated several times, that he is interested in keeping the core of the group, together for several years.

Proof of that direction, comes in the contract extensions, for Xavier Rhodes @ $ 70 Million for five years, and approximately $ 58 Million for Everson Griffen. for 4 years. Spielman indicated there are still a few, he would like to sign to extensions, such as Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter and Linval Joseph.

When asked about Bradford, he basically said that is not as important right now. An attitude and actions that indicate they don’t include him in their mid-term and long term plans. It sure doesn’t build any kind of confidence in Bradford for the 2017 season. So far much more attention has been on Teddy Bridgewater, who isn’t expected to play in 2017, or maybe ever.

As a quarterback, it is very important that he is confident, that the brass supports him. If he is confident, that extends to the whole team, especially the offense. If the front office supports him, the players believe in him, and jell under him in games, especially when they need to come from behind, to win. If they fail to make him comfortable, his on field performance will suffer.

It was reported on July 17th, 2017 in the Minneapolis StarTribune that the Grand Poo-Bah Zygi with his lapdog, Lester was irked that the new Chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facility Authority (MSFA), Mike Vekich, had turned over control, of the 2 suites, to SMG, the stadium operator. Those 2 suites were designated at the outset, as sales and marketing tools, for the MSFA, to market the new stadium, for non-football use; ie concerts, soccer, Xgames, and home shows. The Vikings feel they should get any monies, that come from the use of those suites. Some key facts on this:

Vikings insist that they gifted those 2 suites to the MSFA. You can’t gift something you don’t own.

The state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis owns the stadium. Not the underworld Wilfs.

The MSFA, along with the SMG run the US Bank stadium, not Zygi.

This is just the latest, in a long list of demands to fleece money, from the ticket holders, and residents of Minnesota, such as:

A seat license fee, of up to $10,000 per seat, in addition to the per game ticket price.

He followed that up with a tailgating fee of $ 600 per year.

Zygi, the winer, and Lester the lapdog somehow negotiated a deal, that gives the Vikings, all the revenue from the new parking ramp, across the street, from the new stadium. What makes this a true WTF moment, is that the state owns it, and sold naming rights to Mills Fleet Farm.

Then they began selling paver bricks for up to $360 each. They adorn space under the Viking ship.

Zygi must stay up late at night, to come up with plots to squeeze more money, out of Minnesota and the Viking fans. What could be next? A toilet fee; $25 to drop a load & $10 to urinate. How about a usage fee for using the roads, that lead to the stadium, on Sundays. How about an excise tax, on television viewership of the Vikings, on Sundays?

My biggest and most meaningful baseball memory, was when the Minnesota Twins returned to Minneapolis after winning the 1987 American League Championship, which meant they were going to play in the 1987 World Series. The media had put out a call, to have the fans surprise the players, when they returned home to the Metrodome. It was after 11 pm, and the Metrodome was packed to the rafters, with a crowd over 50,000, when they arrived. When they entered the Metrodome, they were expecting maybe a couple hundred, so they were blown away, when they saw the crowd. It truly was a magical moment!!

On July 22nd, 2017, the Minnesota Twins honored the 30th Anniversary, of the 1987 team. I was a big fan of that team, more so then all the others, I suppose, because it had star power and some characters.

Tom Kelly

Kirby Pucket

Kent Hrebek

Juan Berenger

Tom Brunansky

Bert Blyleven

Al Newman

I always remember these guys, in their uniforms and hats, as I only saw them on the field, or in print, in their uniforms and hats. So when they were introduced at the Twins game, celebrating the 30 year anniversary, I was surprised. I certainly wasn’t used to seeing them in casual slacks and golf shirts. Some were balding, some had protruding bellies, some were gray, and some didn’t walk too briskly. But that didn’t matter, they still were hero’s to me, and a real special treat for me.

The 1987 World Series :

The first World Series played in a dome.

Both teams won all their home games.

The Twins, had the worst regular season record, of any World Series winner; 85-77.

The Twins parade, in Minneapolis, had an estimated crowd of 250,000.

And….. who could forget the Homer Hankie.

Thanks for the memories!!

In my early days of sports addiction (still not cured), the New York Yankees were always the epitome of baseball. They are the winningest franchise of any sport. They have won 27 World Series Championships. They have had 44 players and 11 coaches elected to the Hall of Fame. Here are some of the Yankee Greats, who are also Baseball’s greats:

The team at various times, has answered to the Damn Yankees, the Bronx Bombers, the Bronx Zoo, Murderers Row, and the Pinstripes. Whether you loved them, or hated them, they were baseballs biggest draw. In any Major League city, as soon as the single game seats were available, the games against the feared Yankees sold out.

They have had a curse on the Minnesota Twins for many years, highlighted by the fact that during Ron Gardenhire’s years with the Twins, they could only muster a 23-69 record against the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees always beat Minnesota in the Playoffs, during those years, going 12-2 against the Twins. As a matter of fact, the Twins have not won a series against the Yanks since 2008.

Until……..July, 2017, when they took 2 out 3 from the power hitting Yankees, at Target Field, in Minneapolis. The 2 games they won were by scores of 4-2 & 6-1. Could this stop the curse?

The Minnesota Vikings signed Michael Floyd on May 10th, 2017, after Floyd had been released by Arizona, then New England, due to an excessive DUI in December in Phoenix. He was found asleep at the wheel, with 3 times the legal limit. He was going to face a 2 – 4 game suspension for the 2017 season from the NFL. He had had a successful 5 year career, with the Arizona Cardinals, as a starting receiver.

For the Vikings, he would certainly be an improvement, over their current receiving corp, or at least, a great addition, but of course they would have to weigh the overall impact on the team, after his 4 game suspension was announced by the NFL.

I first became aware of Floyd through a friend on the Cretin-Durham Hall School coaching staff, St. Paul, MN. He told me about this young athlete, who wanted to attend the private school Cretin-Durham Hall. He of limited resources, had to accept a scholarship, that he would have to work off, working early in the morning with the custodial staff. He also had to take a metro bus, 1 hour each way to get there.

Here is some additional background on Floyd:

Outstanding basketball player, in addition to football.

Minnesota High School Player of the year in 2007 & 2008.

Rivals ranked him No. 3 in the country, a 5 star recruit.

Junior year at Notre Dame he had 79 receptions & named MVP.

His Senior year, he had 100 catches,1,147 yds, 9 TD’s.

Drafted by Arizona Cardinals # 13 in the 2012 draft.

His Arizona career, he had 246 catches, for 3,782 yds, & 24 TD’s.

He could be a great find (and inexpensive ) for the Vikings. He has the credentials, and a proven track record, if he can stay away from the stupid sauce.

This list is only Free Agents. There are several others also in this category such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, & Russell Westbrook that have existing contracts. How do compare to these NBA stars? Perhaps you are a little short of these lofty contracts. But how about some of the lesser known players, maybe some that don’t even start:
Duwayne Dedmon $ 7,000,000 $ 14,000,000
Shelvin Mack $ 6,000,000 $ 12,000,000
Nene Hilario $ 3,651,000 $ 10,954,000
Ron Baker $ 4,436,000 $ 8,872,000
Jonas Jerebko $ 4,100,000 $ 8,200,000
Remember these guys average about 15 minutes a game, and work 6 months a year. Are you starting to see where you would rank with these guys?

Just for comparison sake, I thought I’d google some of the top CEO’s in the country and see where they would rank. The president of the USA only makes $400,000 annually.
Ginni Rometty $1,600,000 CEO of IBM
Sundar Pichai $ 650,000 CEO of Google
Tim Cook $3,000,000 CEO of Apple
Isn’t it hard to believe how many players in the NBA ( 70 ), earn more than the $3,000,000 a year, the CEO of Apple earns.

As I was researching this, I wondered how this compared to when I started my sales and marketing career. In 1966, the first round pick, Cazzie Russell, signed for $200,000 for 3 years, which was the richest contract in the history of the NBA. My starting salary in the business world was $5,200 annually.

The other thing that stands out to me, is the stress levels of a CEO, versus that of a second string NBA player. One who only works 6 months a year.

Having been a sports fan for many tears, I have attended events where the description of what was happening on the field was: touchdown, field goal, penalty, pass, rushing yards, field goal, 3 pointer, free throw, foul, shot from downtown, hit, strike, strikeout, ball, home run, single etc. All comments I am very familiar with and fully understand their meaning.

However, this past weekend, I attended the X Games in Minneapolis, where I was a virgin to the dialogue of extreme sports, which I was about to learn. The vocabulary used at the X Games to describe events and actions, goals, or tricks went like this:

BMX Vert

SKB Big Air

MotoX Freestyle

MotoX Best Whip

MotoX High Air

Ollie

Cat Rail

Trany Skating

Drop In

KickFlip

Backside Air

50/50

Shipwreck

disaster

Flare Bar Stream The event in Minneapolis was spectacular. The events were mostly held in new US Bank Stadium. The overall event is kind of hard to describe. It was kind of like going to the fair, or a circus, where you have one daredevil act, but you have dozens of dare devils, that are competing with each other.